Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is '"Eluceat omnibus lux"' (English: Let the light shine out from all), alluding to the Quaker concept of inner light. All Sidwell Friends students attend Quaker meeting for worship weekly, and middle school students begin every day with five minutes of silence.1 The school's admissions process is merit-based. As documented on the school's website, it gives preference in admissions decisions to members of the Religious Society of Friends, but otherwise does not discriminate on the basis of religion. Sidwell "accepts only 7 percent of its applicants".2 The school accepts vouchers under the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. Described as "a great Quaker school",3 the school has educated children of notable politicians, including those of several presidents. President Theodore Roosevelt's son Archibald, President Richard Nixon's daughter Tricia, President Bill Clinton's daughter Chelsea Clinton, President Barack Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia, Vice President Joe Biden's grandchildren,4 and Vice President Al Gore's son, Albert Gore III, graduated from Sidwell Friends. History Thomas Sidwell started a "Friends' Select School" in 1883 on I Street in downtown Washington, four blocks from the White House.56 It opened with just eleven students.7 Beginning in 1911, Sidwell began buying property between Wisconsin Avenue and 37th St. Initially, the new property was used for athletic fields—and, with the central campus' downtown location—meant students had to shuttle between the two sites by streetcar. However, in 1923, Sidwell built a building for school dances and other social gatherings on what came to be known as the Wisconsin Avenue campus.7 In 1925, the school added a kindergarten, making it the first K–12 school in Washington.7 In 1934, the name of the school was changed to "Sidwell Friends School", and began its gradual re-location to the Wisconsin Avenue building.78 By 1938, the transition to the new building had been completed, and the I Street property was sold. At the urging of the students, the school briefly adopted a dress code in 1955, which included a coat and tie for all male high school students. The dress code was later dropped—again at the urging of students—in the 1970s. Sidwell became racially integrated in 1964.5 Before 1964 it was a white-only school.9 Since 2005, the Wisconsin Avenue campus has seen the completion of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum Middle School; a new indoor athletic facility; underground parking garage; and two turf fields. A new Quaker Meeting House facility is located in the newly renovated Arts Center. Thomas B. Farquhar was removed from his position as the Head of School after the 2013–2014 school year. He became the Head of School after the retirement of former Head of School Bruce Stewart at the end of the 2008–2009 school year.10 Bryan K. Garman, the current Head of School, took office beginning with the 2014–2015 school year. Academics More than 60 percent of Sidwell students are enrolled in honors and Advanced Placement courses. Sidwell has averaged an 80 percent AP pass rate over the past five years, which is more than 20 points higher than the national average. Sidwell graduates of the past five years are currently attending the following private colleges and universities: Harvard University, Stanford University, Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, University of Notre Dame, Duke University, Brown University, University of Southern California, Johns Hopkins University, University of Miami, and University of Connecticut, among many others. Alumni have also been accepted to all campuses of the University of Maryland, College Park and University of Connecticut, as well as the University of Texas, College of William and Mary, University of Kentucky and Cornell University. Sidwell's Class of 2016 received more than $27 million in college scholarships. Sidwell has a one-to-one device program in each classroom and 99 percent of Sidwell graduates exceed the minimum course requirements set for the American and the Georgetown University. Sidwell features 30 honors and AP classes and 93 percent of Sidwell faculty members hold advanced degrees. Athletics Sidwell's sports teams are known as the Quakers; their colors are maroon and gray. The Quakers compete in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for boys' sports (after previously competing in the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) until 1999) and the Independent School League (ISL) for girls' sports. Athletic facilities The campus features three multi-sport turf surfaces used for basbeall, field hockey, lacrosse, rugby, soccer and softball. Football plays at Gibbs Field. Gallagher Gymnasium is the home of the basketball, volleyball and wrestling teams. The school also has four tennis courts used by the tennis program. Current profile * For the 2017–2018 school year, 1,146 students are enrolled. * 47% of the student body are students of color. * 23% of the student body receives some form of financial assistance. * The school employs 155 teachers and 112 administrative and support staff. * 84% of faculty hold advanced degrees. * Tuition for the 2018–2019 school year is $40,840. * The school does not release its SAT average scores or college admission list. However, the school releases to the families of the most recent alumni class a list of which institutions each recently graduated student is attending. * The school does not rank its students, as this conflicts with the Quaker Testimony of Equality. Campuses The Middle and Upper School campus is located at 3825 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20016-2907 * 15 acre (61,000 m²) Wisconsin Avenue campus in the Tenleytown section of Northwest Washington * Earl G. Harrison Jr. Upper School Building * Middle School building with LEED platinum certification,24 designed by architect KieranTimberlake Associates and landscape design by Andropogon Associates. The wood-clad building was designed around a sustainable use of water and energy, exemplified by a constructed wetland in the center of the campus, with many species of plants, as well as turtles and fish, part of a wastewater recycling system designed by Biohabitats. On the interior, the building uses thermal chimneys and louvers that admit diffuse light to limit the need for artificial light and thermal control. Lastly, the building contains a centralized mechanical plant that uses less energy than normal, much of which is produced by photovoltaic banks on the roof. The materials used and the environmental technology are referenced architecturally and made accessible to students, either physically, or by explanatory signs, as an educational feature. * Kogod Center for the Arts * Richard Walter Goldman Memorial Library * Zartman House (administration building) * Sensner Building (Fox Den Cafe and school store) * Wannan and Kenworthy Gymnasiums * Three athletic fields, five tennis courts, and two tracks (one 2-lane indoor track indoor for bad weather and an outdoor 6-lane track for competitions). * Parking facility with faculty, student, guest and alumni parking (2 floors, 200+ parking spaces), as well as offices for security, IT and maintenance The Lower School campus can be found at 5100 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland, 20814-2306 * 5 acre (20,000 m²) Edgemoor Lane campus in Bethesda (formerly Longfellow School for Boys; opened for the 1963–64 school year) * Manor House (classrooms, administration, and Clark Library) * Groome Building (classrooms and multi-purpose room) * Science, Art, and Music (SAM) Building * The Bethesda Friends Meeting House * Athletic fields, a gymnasium, and two playgrounds Both campuses underwent major renovations throughout the 2005–2006 school year, and construction for the Wisconsin Avenue campus Athletic Center (which includes the Kenworthy Courts) was completed in 2011. Sidwell Friends plans to move the Lower School to the site of the current site of The Washington Home and Community Hospices, which is adjacent to the Wisconsin Avenue campus. Until funding is secured, there is currently no timeline for when this move will take place Notable alumni Notable alumni of Sidwell Friends include: Activism * Vanessa Wruble (1992), co-founder of the Women's March on Washington. * Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (transferred to Georgetown Preparatory School), American environmental attorney and activist26 Business * Daniel Mudd (1976), former CEO of Fannie Mae * Nick Friedman (2000), entrepreneur * Omar Soliman (2000), author and entrepreneur Crime * William Zantzinger, convicted killer and subject of the Bob Dylan song, "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll"28 Education * Hanna Holborn Gray (1947 or 1948), historian and Provost of Yale University and later the President of University of Chicago * Philip S. Khoury (1967), Ford International Professor of History and Associate Provost, MIT * George A. Akerlof, Nobel Prize winner for Economics and current faculty member at Georgetown University Government and law * J. Bradford DeLong (1979), US Treasury appointee in the Clinton administration * David W. Dennis (1929), Indiana congressman * Oleg Alexandrovich Troyanovsky, Soviet ambassador to the United Nations * John Deutch (1956), Central Intelligence Agency Director, MIT professor * William Henry Harrison (1914 or 1915), Republican Representative from Wyoming and great-great-grandson of President William Henry Harrison * Doug Gansler (1981), State's Attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland (1999—2007), Attorney General of the State of Maryland, (2007–2015) * Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. (1969), Federal Reserve Board Former vice-chairman * Edward Lazarus (1977), Supreme Court Clerk, author * Nancy Reagan, former First Lady (attended the elementary school 1925–1928) * Edward Tylor Miller (1912 or 1913), Maryland congressman * Joseph P. Kennedy II (transferred to Georgetown Preparatory School), member of the U.S. House of Representatives26 Journalism * Anne Applebaum (1982), journalist and author * John Dickerson (1987), journalist, political commentator, and writer. * Dan Froomkin (1981), journalist and Huffington Post columnist * Charles Gibson (1961), ABC World News Tonight anchor, host of ABC's Good Morning America27 * Anand Giridharadas (1999), journalist and author of Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World29 Literature and poetry * Elizabeth Alexander (1980), poet * Ann Brashares (1985), author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series of books * Margaret Edson (1979), Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Wit * James K Glassman (1965), editorialist, syndicated columnist, and author * John Katzenbach (1968), author * John Dos Passos, (attended 1902–1903) * Susan Shreve (1957), professor, author and novelist * Andrew Szanton (1981), author * Lorin Stein, editor in chief of The Paris Review * Philip Terzian (1961–66) Literary Editor of The Weekly Standard * Gore Vidal (1943, left in 1936) Performers * Ana Gasteyer (1985), actress * Jeffrey Mumford (1973), composer * Robert Newmyer (1974), film producer * Tony Horwitz (1976), journalist and author * Clara Jeffery (1985), editor of Mother Jones magazine * Davis Guggenheim (1982), film director, An Inconvenient Truth among others * Thomas Kail (1995), director * Ezra Edelman (1992), Emmy Award-winning documentary producer and director * Ben Shenkman (1986), actor * Campbell McGrath (1980), poet and winner of the MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award" * Alyson Cambridge (born 1980), operatic soprano and classical music, jazz, and American popular song singer * Jon Bernthal (1995), actor * Oteil Burbridge (1982), bassist for Dead & Company and the Allman Brothers Band * Sonya Clark (1985), artist * Baratunde Thurston (1995), comedian * Alexandra Tydings (1989), actress * Robin Weigert (1987), actress * Nana Meriwether (2003), Miss USA 2012 * Eliza Orlins, contestant on Survivor: Vanuatu and Survivor: Micronesia * Bill Nye (1973), television personality 27 * Scott Sanders (1986), director of Black Dynamite Presidential children and royalty * Setsuko Chichibu (1928), Princess of Japan * Chelsea Clinton (1997), daughter of President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton27 * Tricia Nixon Cox (1964) daughter of President Richard Nixon* Julie Nixon Eisenhower (1966, left in 1961), daughter of Richard Nixon[30 * Malia Obama (2016), daughter of President Barack Obama * Sasha Obama (2019), daughter of President Barack Obama * Archibald Roosevelt (1912?), son of Theodore Roosevelt Science * Walter Gilbert (1949), Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry * Robert Watson, (1995), computer scientist Sports * Paul Goldstein (1994), professional tennis player, 4-time NCAA Champion and All-American at Stanford, 2-time USTA 18 & Under national champion. * Josh Hart (2013), basketball player, first-round selection of 2017 NBA draft * Jair Lynch (1989), gymnast, 1996 Olympic Silver Medalist in parallel bars * Kara Lawson (1999, left in 1996) WNBA player and star at the University of Tennessee, 5th pick of the 2003 WNBA Draft. * Ray Lewis (2013), running back for the Carolina Panthers * Charles Lindbergh (attended 1913–1915) * Roger Mason (1999, left in 1996) NBA player for the San Antonio Spurs and star at the University of Virginia, 31st pick of the 2002 NBA Draft. * Natalie Randolph (1999), former football coach Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C. * Kara Parker (2013), professional boxer * Kyra Parker (2012), setter for the United States women's national soccer team * Ed Tapscott (1971), former Washington Wizards interim head coach Sister Schools * High School affiliated to Fudan University * The Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University31 * Ramallah Friends Schools References Henry Armand and Judy Rice Millon Patti Solis Doyle External links * Sidwell Friends School * Sidwell Friends School first K-12 to receive LEED Platinum * Country Addition to Friends School – advertisement for school in 1910 Category:Schools